Jennifer Aniston: “My John is extraordinary”

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mirror, Jennifer Aniston talks for the first time about John Mayer. After unsuccessful relationships with Brad Pitt, Vince Vaughn and Tate Donovan, Friends star turns a new page and says John is the one.

On John: “He’s a rare one. He is extraordinary and it is wonderful to watch him… the way his brain works and the way he thinks thoughts… it’s beautiful. It’s an amazing thing to watch a musician think. I don’t know many musicians but when his guitar is on him it’s just like a channel. It’s something I’ve never ever seen before.”

On turning 40: “I panicked when I was leaving my 20s and the 30s were a challenge, quite frankly. They were so full, from Friends to everything – that was a decade! Now I’m ready for the next one.”

On public interest in the glamorous A-list couple’s break-up: “I’m baffled by it and it makes no sense to me. Everybody goes through tough times. You’ve just got to figure out how to get through them. It’s my history and my memory. I used to really take things personally. It took me some time to figure this out but if you can be truthful and honest with who you are, then you have a much easier time walking through life.”

On money: “I don’t wake up in the morning, stretch my arms and say, ‘Oh, I’m wealthy’. I just know I’m extremely fortunate and I have the good fortune to take care of my family, to give to causes that matter to me and to contribute in ways not everybody can. I’ve never been someone to have money as my goal. I just wanted to work.”

On having children: “I feel it’s in my future and I’m on the verge of it in some way, so it was great to dip the toe in. I want to have children. That’s my plan.”

On Friends: “Friends really helped people through some hard times,” she recalls. I’ve experienced some of my most moving moments when people who have survived cancer have wept in my arms with gratitude. One sweet girl told me that as her mother was dying they watched episodes of Friends to get through the hours. It’s a very, very powerful thing to have been a part of. If there is to be a reunion I would hope it would be sooner, rather than later, and I think it would be better if we did just one episode. Courteney Cox and I have discussed it and it would be fun to get together again but I don’t know if it will happen.”

On future plans: “I want to experience the world and travel because I haven’t travelled as much as I want to. There are other things I want to explore besides acting – maybe something outside my comfort zone, something to do with other people or something with children. There’s so much. The appetite’s almost insatiable for what the possibilities are. My life is very full and it feels very good.”